


"Yes, I did. What about it?"

by AuthorinExile



Series: Fictober 2020 [7]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Awkward Conversations, Baurus Lives, Baurus is a Good Friend, Best Friends, Blushing, Cloud Ruler Temple, Confrontations, F/M, Feelings, Gen, Hero of Kvatch is usually a dick, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Just Let Me Write the Cutesy Things I Crave, Martin Septim and the Hero are in love I will die on this hill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29857110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorinExile/pseuds/AuthorinExile
Summary: The Hero of Kvatch is acting...strange. As her best--and, perhaps, only--friend, Baurus has to find out why. Also, he's nosy. Sue him.
Relationships: Baurus & Female Hero of Kvatch | Champion of Cyrodiil, Female Hero of Kvatch | Champion of Cyrodiil/Martin Septim, Hero of Kvatch | Champion of Cyrodiil/Martin Septim
Series: Fictober 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147928
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	"Yes, I did. What about it?"

**Author's Note:**

> I'm never going to stop shipping Martin Septim and the Hero of Kvatch, and I'm also never going to let Baurus die in that one mission, and none of you can make me.

Baurus watches his best friend with a suspicious squint as she practically floats through Cloud Ruler Temple. 

She does all of her chores. She completes all of her training. She helps the others with their tasks and gives a few pointers to some of the younger Blades. She even cheerfully volunteers to make the supply run to Bruma.

She is on her very best behavior, and she is obviously extremely happy about something.

Which is precisely what tips Baurus off.

He loves the girl, he really does, but she’s… She’s not the most cheerful of people. She’s not even really the most helpful of people, despite what the citizens of Cyrodiil seem to think. She tends to slog through her assignments around the temple, glaring at people who approach her. She has outright refused to make supply runs on more than one occasion. When she isn’t forcing herself not to flee into the wilderness at the first sight of responsibility, she’s hiding from everyone else in Cloud Ruler Temple, usually to read.

So all this? This is not her usual behavior.

Baurus doesn’t say anything in front of the other Blades. They have probably noticed and decided to count their blessings without his help, and despite her prickly nature, she’s still his best friend. He doesn’t want to embarrass her.

So he waits until she’s alone. He sneaks up on her as she’s packing her bag and making a list of the things needed from Bruma, and he cuts straight to the point.

“Who’d you hook up with?”

In all honesty, it was meant to be a joke, but she stiffens immediately and flushes.

“I did not 'hook up’ with anyone.”

“Wow, you actually did, didn’t you? Fucking good for you, girl,” Baurus says with genuine feeling. “Who was it? Not Caroline, I hope. She’ll break your heart.”

“No, not… Not Caroline.”

Her face is even darker now, and she is resolutely avoiding his eyes.

“I don’t really do the… The casual thing, actually.”

This throws Baurus for a loop. It’s not unexpected, and he certainly isn’t judging, but the Hero of Kvatch is not close to many people. She’s especially not close to the other Blades who she calls  _ pretentious _ and  _ uptight _ and  _ absolutely no fucking fun, Baurus, unlike you _ whenever they’re out of earshot.

And when they aren’t, on occasion.

Well, she didn’t fuck  _ him _ , so Baurus knows it’s not a Blade. He sighs.

“Did you sneak out to meet someone? Don’t let Master Jauffre find out. He hates when you sneak out.”

She snorts, rolling her eyes at the mention of the Grandmaster.

“Jauffre hates everything I do. Do you know, he told me once he was ‘very disappointed’ I don’t wear the Blades armor when I’m out in the world alone? First of all, it’s ugly. Second of all, I don’t really need that kind of attention. Third, I don’t even  _ have _ training in heavy armor, so?”

“Shut up, our armor is cool. Also, hey? Please stop trying to change the subject for just a solid two minutes, I am begging you.”

She sighs and gives him her best approximation of a stern look. Having received almost no stern looks as a child and rarely having a reason to practice her own, she doesn’t quite nail it.

“No, Baurus. I did not sneak out.”

Baurus growls in frustration, now certain that he’s being toyed with.

“You’re lying about something. I can tell, you know. Why don’t you just turn off that shitty, thiefy, persuasive thing you do?”

“Why do  _ you _ want to know so badly?”

“Because,” he exclaims, “you’ve basically set up a riddle! You definitely got laid! You also don’t have casual sex, but you hate the other Blades, so I know you’re not courting any of them. We aren’t involved. You didn’t sneak out--or so you claim. That limits your options significantly, and unless you’re fucking the emperor--”

She goes still and silent and scarlet. Baurus cuts himself off with a gasp.

“ _ No _ ,” he whispers. “Oh,  _ no _ , tell me you didn’t.”

Instead, she schools her expression and lifts her chin defiantly.

“Yes, I did,” she bites out. “What about it?”

“What about what?”

They both jump and turn to see Martin Septim himself standing in the doorway to the barracks. Immediately, her eyes find Baurus’ pleadingly, and Baurus clears his throat and prepares to lie to his Emperor for his best friend.

“My friend’s tendency to go creeping around in dusty crypts and ancient ruins, ser. I think it’s a bad look for the Hero of Kvatch. She disagrees.”

“Of course I disagree,” the Hero says with a quick breath of relief and an obvious eye roll to really sell the topic. “You just think people will think I’m a necromancer or something.”

“You’re grave robbing,” Baurus exclaims, forgetting for a moment that they aren’t  _ actually _ having this argument again.

“The word is pronounced ‘wealthy.’”

“Forget I asked,” Martin says, barely managing to keep his laughter out of his voice.

And then it happens.

The Hero of Kvatch locks eyes with the Emperor of Tamriel, and her expression gives way entirely. Her exasperation with Baurus melts away completely, replaced by such a profound and genuine look of love that Baurus aches to see it. He pulls his eyes away from her and focuses on Martin, and a knot of worry Baurus had not known was even in his chest eases. That Martin reciprocates is not up for debate. The evidence of his love for her falls across his face like a ray of sunlight, fills him up, and spills over in crashing waves.

For a moment, Baurus feels like an intruder. He shouldn’t be here. He doesn’t deserve to see this moment--or maybe _any_ moment between these two, if it’s going to become such a profound expression of divinity.

The Hero breaks first, glancing briefly over at Baurus, who stares at her slack-jawed, and back to Martin before blushing to the roots of her hair.

Martin glances over to Baurus and soaks in his love’s expression, and his face changes, too. 

Emperors do not smirk, of course. It would be unseemly. 

_ He’s not yet Emperor, technically _ , Baurus’ mind supplies helpfully at Martin Septim does, in fact, smirk ever so briefly.

“Ah,” Martin says, too knowingly. “Well, I’ll leave you to discuss...crypts and ruins and things like that, then. Good day.”

He inclines his head in an almost courtly manner and disappears down the hallway.

Baurus, still in shock, turns his head to find the yet blushing Hero of Kvatch picking up her bag.

“Absolutely not,” he says plainly, ripping the bag from her hands and throwing it somewhere to the side. He snatches the back of her shirt and pulls her away from the barracks and into a more secluded area, saying, “You can’t do shit until you tell me everything. Like ‘how the fuck this happened’ and ‘why you didn’t tell me, your dearest friend, what you were up to,’ okay?”

And, giggling, the Hero of Kvatch does exactly that.


End file.
